CTA chair Robert Shaw has written to minister Paul Scully following the latest government guidance on the new Restart grants for businesses affected by lockdowns. The guidance inexplicably singled out coach tour operators as not eligible for the Restart grant, although those with travel shops and retail premises may qualify. Robert Shaw pointed out to [...]
CTA members enjoyed a wonderful celebration of St Patrick’s Day on zoom, and we are very grateful for all the support and enthusiasm from Tourism Ireland and Hillsborough Castle. The event certainly whet everyone’s appetite to get back to the island of Ireland as soon as it is possible to do so. See a video [...]
COVID-19 Updates - week commencing 22/03/21 More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance. Go to date: 22 March 2021 24 March 2021 22 March 2021 ... Tourism Alliance update: Some good news to start the week. The ARG guidance has been changed to ask councils to encourage [...]
COVID-19 Updates - week commencing 15/03/21 More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance. Go to date: 15 March 2021 17 March 2021 15 March 2021 ... Tourism Alliance update: Revised Primary Guidance for Tourism and Hospitality Businesses The Primary Guidance on Working Safely During Coronavirus for different [...]
Mark Williams interviews Robert Shaw, new Chair of the Coach Tourism Association, to find out what it’s been up to during lockdown, and how coach tourism could emerge better and stronger. See the video here:
VisitScotland is inviting key buyers to take part in Scotland Reconnect 2021 on 27-29 April The three-day event provides an ideal platform to explore new business opportunities and reconnect with Scottish exhibitors through a combination of pre-scheduled and ad-hoc appointments and round table discussions. VisitScotland's Lauren Hogg says: "In these challenging times of Covid-19 we [...]
COVID-19 Updates - week commencing 08/03/21 More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance. Go to date: 8 March 2021 11 March 2021 8 March 2021 ... Tourism Alliance update: ARG Funding For Tourism Businesses In response to the disappointment that a number of sectors of the tourism [...]
Here are some key points and highlights from yesterday's Budget (3 March): Here is a budget briefing from Elman Wall. Budget update from Tourism Alliance: General Economic Status 700,000 people have lost their jobs, the economy shrank by almost 10% last year OBR forecast is for GDP to grow 4% this year, then by [...]
On St David’s Day (1 March) Visit Wales has strengthened its relationship with the Coach Tourism Association by becoming a new Partner Member. The importance of working together on tourism issues and opportunities for Wales in the coach operating sector has been highlighted during the pandemic and Visit Wales is pleased to formalise the already [...]
COVID-19 Updates - week commencing 01/03/21 More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance. Go to date: 1 March 2021 3 March 2021 1 March 2021 ... Tourism Alliance updates: Northern Ireland Economic Recovery Action Plan Northern Ireland has launched a £290m economic recovery plan which focuses on [...]
CTA member Stuart Render Tourism is inviting coach tour operators and group tour wholesalers to join a familiarisation trip this October to discover what northern France has to offer as a group-friendly destination. The four-day fam trip, being delivered by Hauts-de-France Tourism (which has recently joined as a new member of CTA), with the involvement [...]
Historic Royal Palaces’ 2021-22 Group Visits Guide is available to view and download via its website. For the first time, this edition will only be available in a digital format, so the guide can easily be amended to reflect any changes to the visitor offer. Operators are therefore recommended to check the guide before a visit for [...]
Uber boat by Thames Clippers is planning to return to service from Monday 29 March, following the government’s roadmap out of the current lockdown for England. On the basis that the government’s Step 1 remains unchanged, it will return with a phased re-introduction of services from 29 March and initially operate the RB1 service between [...]
Update 24/02/21: Road Map Questions Attached is a copy of the collated questions on the Roadmap that have been sent to DCMS by the Tourism Alliance including specific references to the Day Trips questions raised by CTA. We are awaiting a government response. There are still a number of questions on the details but the [...]
COVID-19 Updates - week commencing 22/02/21 More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance. Go to date: 22 February 2021 25 February 2021 22 February 2021 ... Tourism Alliance updates: Ordering Home Testing Kits The Government has announced that it is making it is introducing three new measures [...]
There was a great piece on The One Show, BBC1 (19 Feb) highlighting the desire for coach passengers to get back out there on holiday! Lovely to hear first hand from eager coach customers about the importance of having something to look forward to this year. The One Show reporter Kevin Duala commented: “There’s particular [...]
Update: Many thanks to everyone who attended our special zoom celebration of St Patrick's Day, and we are very grateful for all the support and enthusiasm from Tourism Ireland and Hillsborough Castle. Here's a video of the event for those who missed it, including a special Riverdance performance at the end. Following [...]
Over St David’s Day weekend (27 February -1 March), @walesdotcom will be running its biggest ever digital festival across social media channels, working with partners and digital contacts to amplify Wales to the world. It aims to showcase Wales at its best and bringing the words of St David to life - ‘do the little [...]
Coldharbour Mill is one of the oldest woollen mills in the UK having been in continuous production since 1797. Originally owned by world-renowned textile producers Fox Brothers, the mill took fleece from all over the world and transformed it into yarn, cloth and textiles. Today the heritage lives on as one of the finest working [...]
Skipton Boat Trips is located in the centre of an award-winning market town at the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales. Whether it’s a one-hour cruise with an entertaining commentary and complimentary refreshments or an Afternoon Tea, Ploughman’s Lunch, Sunday lunch, or Fish & Chips cruise, at Skipton Boat Trips the goal is to make your [...]
Visit Herts’ latest Tourism Economic Impact Study shows that before the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the county’s visitor economy had topped £2.4billion for the first time ever, welcoming a record 29 million visitors in 2019. Independent research commissioned by Hertfordshire’s official Destination Management Organisation has revealed that £139million was spent on average in the local economy each month in [...]
As a specialist in the field of surety insurance broking to the UK coach & bus industry, Wrightsure’s Andy Day would be delighted to undertake a complimentary review of any coach tour operator’s current consumer protection arrangements to see how Wrightsure may be able to be of assistance to them. Any coach tour operator who [...]
The challenge is set and the competition is rising as Clayton Hotels join Dalata Hotel Group’s 43 hotels across Ireland and the UK to walk, run, hike or wheelchair around the world in 30 days! Despite the difficult times facing us all, Clayton colleagues will virtually travel the full length of the world throughout February - that's [...]
Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust received a grant of £177,500 to support the rebuilding of audiences following the COVID-19 pandemic from the Garfield Weston Foundation Culture Fund. The funding will be used to support the redevelopment of the popular Victorian Ropery gallery at The Historic Dockyard Chatham, telling the 400-year-old story of ropemaking at Chatham – [...]
The Tourism Alliance has prepared a model letter that it is asking tourism businesses to send to the Government calling on them to offer the following support for tourism businesses as part of this year’s budget: Retain the 5% VAT Rate for 2021 and expand it to cover on-premises alcohol sales Extend Business Rates Relief [...]
CTA member Towergate Insurance reminds members of the government’s latest guidance on how BREXIT will affect future holidays taken in EU member states and other European countries. Towergate asserts that preparation is key and suggests some key points for your customers to consider: 1. Take out a travel insurance policy COVID-19 has shown us how [...]
Family-owned Marsham Court Hotel in Bournemouth has achieved success in the 2020 Dorset Tourism Awards winning the Gold award for Hotel of the Year along with Business Events and Wedding Venue and Dog Friendly Business. Having had a roller coaster of a year, the news brought a welcome boost to managing director Rosie Radwell and [...]
The Silver Travel Industry Report 2021 has been published by Silver Travel Advisor and includes some specific insights into coach tourism as a result of a partnership with CTA. The latest consumer survey conducted on behalf of Silver Travel Advisor focused on the desire for consumers to take coach holidays in the wake of the [...]
COVID-19 Updates - week commencing 15/02/21 More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance. Go to date: 15 February 2021 16 February 2021 18 February 2021 15 February 2021 ... Tourism Society: Join the Tourism Society for their 2nd session in the "Big Thinkers in Tourism" series [...]
COVID-19 Updates - week commencing 08/02/21 More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance. Go to date: 9 February 2021 10 February 2021 12 February 2021 9 February 2021 ... Tourism Alliance updates: New Border Control Measures The Government has announced new border control measures aimed at preventing [...]
CTA members can join a free webinar being organised by ETOA on 9 February at 16:00 hrs covering 'Changes to the treatment of VAT in Germany'. In the view of the German authorities, the Tour Operators Margin Scheme (Sonderregelungen für Reiseleistungen) is only available to companies within the European Union. It follows that non-EU companies that deliver [...]
UPDATE: Here is a recording of the virtual event. A virtual lobby on behalf of the coach industry is being hosted by Emma Hardy MP on Wednesday 10 February, 1030-1130. In attendance will be over twenty MPs representing their local coach companies, and representatives from the coach industry. An invitation has been sent to Grant [...]
COVID-19 Updates - week commencing 01/02/21 More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance. Go to date: 1 February 2021 2 February 2021 3 February 2021 4 February 2021 1 February 2021 ... Tourism Alliance updates: FCA Business Interruption Policy Checker and FAQ Following the Supreme Court test case [...]
A ministerial statement in a House of Commons debate on tourism this week has offered a small ray of light for those coach tour operators who have not been successful in gaining access to Covid grants because they don’t have a retail premises selling direct to consumers. Tourism inister Nigel Huddleston acknowledged that coach tour [...]
COVID-19 Updates - week commencing 25/01/21 More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance. Go to date: 25 January 2021 26 January 2021 28 January 2021 25 January 2021 ... CPT updates: SWITZERLAND & NORWAY PASSENGER TRANSPORT BI-LATERAL AGREEMENTS We have previously updated members about the bi-lateral agreements between [...]
CTA has joined with other tourism trade bodies to challenge the government policy on allocating discretionary grants to support the sector’s businesses affected by Covid lockdowns. CTA, alongside The Business Visits and Events Partnership (BVEP), Confederation of Passenger Transport, English UK, ETOA, Tourism Alliance and UKinbound, has expressed their despair and disbelief that Government has [...]
CTA has been very active with media interviews and online events since the beginning of 2021. CTA chair Robert Shaw has presented at online events run by CPT and VisitEngland and conducted a round of media interviews including a BBC local radio marathon last week. CPT’s Bus and Coach Conference 2021 included a key session [...]
Scottish tourism businesses have another opportunity to link up with global tour operators and travel agents ‘virtually’. Recognising the need for Scotland’s tourism businesses to maintain contact throughout Covid-time with travel intermediaries around the globe, VisitScotland has organised the Scotland Reconnect 2021 event, which will take place 27-29 April, following its successful inaugural digital event [...]
CTA member Long Mynd Travel is working to support the local community in Shropshire where it is based by kindly offering a free of charge service for the county’s residents over 70 and in the vulnerable category, with transport to and from vaccination centres. Long Mynd is offering free travel to vaccine centres in Shropshire [...]
One operator reporting that customers are booking holidays for later in the year in large numbers after receiving their vaccinations is CTA member Bakers Dolphin. The company believes that confidence is returning and the tourism market will bounce back after Easter with online and telephone bookings rocketing in the past week. Amanda Harrington, sales and [...]
The South of Scotland Destination Alliance (SSDA), is a new industry-led management and marketing organisation for the South of Scotland – including Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders. CTA member MBTAG, the Midlothian and Borders Tourism Action Group, will merge into the SSDA and continue its work from the last three years across the [...]
Coach groups can be transported to a secret side of London with a virtual tour of a disused Tube station organised by the Hidden London team at London Transport Museum. Virtual guests can experience a subterranean world of shadowy tunnels and forgotten spaces of London Underground in groups of a minimum of 25 people and [...]
The organiser of British Tourism & Travel Show (BTTS) has announced this year’s event will move from March to September. The show will be deferred to the new dates of 22-23 September 2021 at the NEC Birmingham, following the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The British Coach Tourism Awards will also move to take [...]
Hospitality Line says that for 29 years, its clients have been able to book with no commitment from a selection of more than 10,000 venues and it has confirmed that it will be continuing to provide this level of operational freedom wherever possible throughout 2021 and beyond. There are a host of attractions looking forward to opening [...]
CTA member Exbury Gardens is highlighting new woodland wonders, family nature trails and dazzling spring colour in 2021. A new River Walk will allow visitors to explore previously-hidden woodland within the 200-acre New Forest garden, with glimpses of the Beaulieu River estuary. Interpretation boards will explain how to spot some of the iconic native trees. Stretching nearly [...]
COVID-19 Updates - week commencing 18/01/21 More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance. Go to date: 18 January 2021 19 January 2021 18 January 2021 ... Tourism Alliance updates: Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) Addendum: 5 January onwards The payment period is initially extended to 42 days from [...]
Update: Many thanks to those who attended the Burns Night zoom. It was a very informative and valuable session with great contributions from Lauren Hogg, VisitScotland; Andrew MacNair, CalMac Ferries; and Mary Jane Brett, Diageo plus a wonderful Address to a Haggis from Visit Arran's Sheila Gilmore. Presentations and extract from zoom video below: Robert [...]
COVID-19 Updates - week commencing 04/01/21 More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance. Go to date: 4 January 2021 5 January 2021 7 January 2021 8 January 2021 4 January 2021 ... CPT update: FREE TRADE DEAL FROM 1 JANUARY 2021 The UK and EU have agreed the [...]
COVID-19 Updates - week commencing 21/12/20 More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance. Go to date: 21 December 2020 21 December 2020 ... Tourism Alliance update: Northern Ireland Restrictions Following on from the post-Xmas restrictions announced in Wales, Northern Ireland has announced that, Between 20:00 and 06:00 from 26 [...]
The Coach Tourism Association has appointed a new Chair, Robert Shaw, who has now taken over from outgoing Chair John Wales. Following a board meeting on 09-December-20 the CTA has also announced the appointment of two new board members, Emma Russell from Alfa Travel and Lucy Osborne from Leger/Shearings. Robert Shaw was the Association’s previous [...]
